


Waiting Too Late

by thatcrazywriterley



Series: The Too Late Tales [6]
Category: AEW, All Elite Wrestling, Being The Elite (Web Series), Young Bucks-Fandom
Genre: A little angst, Fluff, Multi, Nick's a great dad, So is Matt, are we surprised, brothers share a wife, it's a girl!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:55:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23573485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatcrazywriterley/pseuds/thatcrazywriterley
Summary: Life is settling in for the Jacksons. But one mistake makes life a little more complicated.
Relationships: Matt Jackson/Reader, Matt Jackson/Reader/Nick Jackson, Nick Jackson/Reader
Series: The Too Late Tales [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695274
Kudos: 3





	Waiting Too Late

_(GIF owned by srsfunny on Tumblr)_

It was hard to believe that almost three years had passed. Life had changed in more ways than one. Matt and Nick had joined a new company where they had creative control over large parts of the promotion. And they’d taken along their friends—Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, Adam Page. With a TV deal, they were home more often. Instead of one or two days every few weeks, I saw them five out of seven.

And it meant more to me than they knew. The nights together were one thing, but the days were where my heart found even more love for them than before. The days were when I could watch them get quickly wrapped around the finger of the little girl who’d changed everything.

With thick, dark brown hair and wide blue eyes, Mattea Jackson, or Mattie as we called her, had become the light of our lives. She had come screaming into the world a little over nine months after I’d committed myself to the Jackson brothers. They were both at my side when she was born—Matt cut her chord, Nick was the first one to hold her. I was relieved when she kept her blue eyes, as if that tiny feature made it easier for the both of them to see parts of themselves in our baby girl.

She was nearing two now, and she was more beautiful every day. There was a bedroom in each house made up just for her—Nick had turned it into a fairytale forest with a castle bed and a thorn forest with a dragon on the wall while Matt had given her an island paradise with palm trees and sandy beaches—and she loved bouncing between the two. She was spoiled beyond measure, and, sometimes, I thought they one-upped each other in the process.

***

“Dada,” Mattie shouted as she came toddling across the living room in Matt’s house. She held a stuffed elephant in one small, cubby hand while the other reached out.

Nick turned at the sound of her calling for him and smiled so broadly that his eyes crinkled. He gave her a surprised face, eyes bright and wide, mouth in an _O_ as he swept her up in his arms. He tossed her up into the air and then cuddled her against his chest, giving her a dramatic smack on the cheek. “Yes, my love?”

Mattie grinned and returned the kiss to his cheek, doing her best to be as dramatic as her Dada. “Wan ooce.”

He nodded seriously. “You want juice? Then let’s get juice.”

I watched him carry her into the kitchen on one arm. Mattie held onto her elephant with one hand and reached for his ponytail with the other. We’d found out very quickly that she was fascinated by their hair. I was sure they’d lost handfuls of it to her when she was just learning to grab things.

Matt gathered me close against him on the sofa. He lay stretched out on the cushions with me curled against his side, my head on his chest. I felt his lips press against the top of my head, and warmth spread through me. “How are you feeling?”

I nuzzled against his chest and breathed in the scent of him. “Good. A little tired, but nothing more than what I was with Mattie.”

His smile curved against my forehead as he settled one hand on my stomach. I was three months along and, now that they were home far more often, Matt and Nick had been spoiling me almost as much as they spoiled their daughter. “Let us take care of Mattie today. Go get your nails done or something. Relax a little, Mama.”

“Don’t you guys have a production meeting today?” As EVPs of their company, they had to take an active role in planning out the next week or months’ worth of shows.

“Yeah,” he said nonchalantly. “But we can handle her for a couple hours. The guys won’t mind. Besides, she’ll have them wrapped around her finger just like us after a few minutes.”

I propped myself up on my elbow and pressed a faint kiss to his lips. “You guys are amazing dads, do you know that?”

“And you’re a great mom,” Nick said as he carried Mattie back in from the kitchen. She grasped a sippy cup between her hands, having given Nick the responsibility of holding onto her elephant. “Isn’t she, Mattie? Mommy is the _best_ mommy.”

***

The boys had their laptop on the kitchen table as they waited to join the conference call with the others. Matt had our daughter on his lap, counting Cheerios on the edge of the table and watching her pick them up and eat them. Nick had his glasses on and a notepad next to him, looking desperately adorable. I leaned against the wall as I slipped my shoes on, taking a moment to look at them, to take in the feeling of having the three of them in my life. To be grateful that this strange life of ours was working.

Nick glanced up and gave me a faint smile, but his attention was quickly drawn to the computer. It looked like their call was about to start. I crossed the kitchen quickly.

“I love you, sweetheart,” I said, dropping a kiss on my daughter’s head. Then I turned to the boys. “I’ll only be gone a little while. If you need me, call me.”

Matt grinned up at me. The way he looked at me was open and beautiful and wonderful. I felt like the greatest thing in the world when he looked at me like that. “We’ll be fine. Enjoy some time to yourself. You deserve it.”

I smiled and leaned down, kissing him softly. “I love you.”

He squeezed my hand and murmured, “I love you, too,” just as I turned and kissed Nick goodbye. “Love you.”

Nick watched me with something like adoration in his eyes. “Love you, Y/N.”

I swept my gaze over the three of them once more before grabbing my purse and walking toward the door.

***

“Wave bye to Mommy,” Matt said, giving her an exaggerated wave. Mattie followed his lead, flexing her fingers at her retreating mother. “That was a good wave, sweetie. Wasn’t it, Dada?”

Nick grinned at his brother and his daughter. “Yes, it was, my love. You did a good wave for Papa.”

He kissed the little girl on the top of the head and turned his attention to the computer, surprised to find three completely surprised people looking back. Kenny, Cody, and Brandi all stared, openmouthed, at the two of them. Nick swallowed hard and looked to his brother, kicking him under the table to get his attention.

Matt barely looked up. “Hey guys. Give me a minute and we can—” He’d finally taken a good look at the computer screen. “What?”

“What the _fuck_?” Kenny said, pointing his finger at the camera, moving it between the two brothers.

Matt put his hands over his daughter’s ears. “Language, Ken! Jesus.”

“I’m seeing things,” Brandi added a moment later. “Because I thought I just saw Matt’s wife… kiss Nick?”

Nick leaned his elbow on the table and propped his head in his hand. He looked over at his brother, not quite sure what to say. It wasn’t that they were ashamed of the life they lived, but they knew that there were a lot of people who wouldn’t understand it. In the outside world, there wasn’t anything unusual. But very few knew the truth—it had been a hard time telling their parents and Y/N’s mother about it—and those that did knew enough to keep their mouths shut.

Matt scoffed. “Your connection is jacked,” he said, doing his best to keep a straight face. “Some lag going on maybe.”

He felt his brother’s foot pressing hard on his toes beneath the table. Matt readjusted his daughter on his lap and cleared his throat. “So what’s on the plate for this week?”

The call was quiet for a moment, as if none of them were willing to speak. Nick hoped that they believed his brother, that they hadn’t seen what they thought they’d seen. But he could tell by the furrow in Kenny’s brow that at least one of them wasn’t swayed. He cursed to himself. They’d been so careful for so long, and they’d slipped.

“We’ve got the tournament,” Brandi said at last. Nick let out a breath and picked up his notepad.

***

I rocked Mattie in my arms as I sat in the locker room with Nick and Matt. They were on the floor stretching, already in their Lisa Frank looking fringed tights. I watched them carefully, feeling unease at the worried looks on their faces. They’d been quieter than usual in the past few days, and Nick had even tried to get me to stay at home instead of coming to the show. I’d wanted to cry, but I’d worked to keep myself calm and blank. For a moment, I’d thought Nick and I were about to have our first real fight.

Although I knew it wasn’t the best time, I couldn’t stop myself. “Nick, why didn’t you want me to come tonight?”

Matt looked up, brown eyes wide as he glared at his brother. “What? What the hell?”

Nick dropped his chin to his chest and sighed. “I thought you might…” He stopped and swore. “They know. Kenny… Cody… Brandi… they know.”

Ice dropped into my chest. “What do you mean _they know_?”

“They saw you kiss me goodbye on the conference call,” he replied. “I didn’t want you to have to deal with the looks. Not until we had a chance to explain it to them.”

My pulse thumped at the base of my throat. I felt sick. “I’m sorry… This is my fault. If this gets out…” Tears blurred my vision. I couldn’t stay. But the problem was that I didn’t have the strength in me to leave.

“No.” Matt’s voice was firm as he suddenly appeared in front of me. “They aren’t going to say anything. I trust them… especially Kenny. We just need to make sure they understand. They aren’t going to make you feel wrong or whatever because of the fact that we love each other.”

“This could ruin your careers.”

“Let it,” Nick said vehemently. “We’ve got more than enough to live the rest of our lives. You’re the one we’re worried about. You and Mattie.”

Matt was about to speak when there was a knock on the door. He looked at it for a moment before he shouted for the person to come in. I curled Mattie against my chest, trying to hide her from whatever was about to come. Kenny and Cody slipped into the room, blanching a little when they saw me and our daughter.

Kenny tried to smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Hey, Y/N. You okay?”

All I could do was nod. My stomach churned.

Cody pushed the door shut and sat down on a bench against the wall. Kenny dropped down beside him, resting his elbows on his knees. “Guys… we need to talk about what… about the call.”

Both brothers stood almost in unison and planted themselves right in front of me, as if they thought their friends would attack me or something. “What do you want to know?”

Kenny took a surprised breath, like he didn’t think that they’d tell him the truth. “What’s… how…”

Matt reached toward us, settling his palm on the center of our daughter’s back. “You were at our wedding, Ken. You know what happened.”

“Yeah, but I thought you guys had settled this whole thing. Jesus Christ, Matt, you married her.”

“We did settle it. And I did marry her.” Matt’s voice was calm and even, his certainty in his decision to be with me.

“And Nick?” Cody prodded.

I reached for Nick’s hand, squeezing his fingers in comfort. “We settled it. Matt married her.”

There was silence for a moment. Then Kenny spoke up. “And Mattie is…?”

“Mine,” the brothers said in unison. They said it so perfectly, so matter of fact that it was almost impossible to deny it.

I squeezed my eyes shut, tears dripping down my cheeks. Their steadfast, united defense of our lives was enough to make me fall in love with both of them all over again. In that moment, I believed Nick when they said that their careers didn’t matter. But that our lives together _did_.

Before anyone else could say a word, Mattie stirred in my lap. She whimpered in the middle of a nightmare and pushed away from me. “Papa,” she whined, thrashing.

Matt turned his back on Kenny and Cody to scoop his daughter up into his arms. He cradled her against his chest, her head on his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his neck and, for a moment, she was content. Then she let out another wailing whine. “Dada! Papa! Dada!”

Nick’s face twisted in pain as he crowded against Matt, his hand going to cradle the back of his little girl’s head. He pressed a kiss to her hair. “It’s okay, my love,” he cooed. “Dada and Papa are right here. You’re safe.”

I glanced to where Kenny and Cody sat watching the brothers, confusion fading a little. The more they watched my boys with our baby girl, the less they seemed to have something to say. Mattie whimpered once or twice more before she opened her blue eyes and yawned. She wriggled until Matt loosened his hold so that she could reach Nick. My heart burst as she hooked one arm around his neck too. They stood head to head, joined together by the little girl in the middle.

Kenny and Cody looked at one another and nodded, as if they’d decided something. The crossed the room and clapped the brothers on the shoulders. “We don’t understand,” Kenny said quietly, “but we understand.”

Cody gave me a brief nod before slipping out of the room. I assumed he was going to talk to Brandi. Kenny circled around behind the brothers so he could look at Mattie. “Now, is this gorgeous little girl going to come see her Uncle Kenny?”

Mattie looked up at her Dada and then her Papa. They grinned and nodded. Their little girl reached for their friend, hugging him around the neck and quickly settling in to go straight back to sleep.


End file.
